Auroras: lights made by the Sun and Earth — Astronomy, 7–10 years
Auroras are colourful sky lights made when particles from the Sun meet gases high above Earth.
Curtains of light in the sky
An aurora is a glowing pattern high in the atmosphere, often green but sometimes red, purple or blue. Particles travelling from the Sun are guided towards Earth’s polar regions, where they make gases glow.
Why did people investigate auroras?
Auroras can look like moving flames, so people once gave them stories and names. Scientists studied them because their shape and strength can reveal how particles from the Sun interact with Earth’s magnetic shield and upper air.
Explaining a green aurora
1. A burst from the Sun sends charged particles towards Earth. 2. Earth’s magnetic field guides many towards the north and south. 3. They hit oxygen high in the atmosphere. 4. Oxygen gives off green light, so a green aurora appears.
Auroras are not clouds or flames
It is reasonable to think an aurora is a cloud or fire because it has soft shapes and seems to wave. It is actually glowing gas very high above the ground, lit by incoming particles; it does not burn or hang low like a cloud.
Auroras help us watch space weather
A strong burst of particles from the Sun can make auroras brighter and appear farther from the poles. The same event may disturb radio signals, satellites or power networks, so scientists watch the Sun and auroras as signs of space weather.
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